Now this is really cool. Three young guys (and I do mean young) are churning out some classic, old school death metal. I’m always delighted when young bands forsake the modern crap and try to walk their own path. In this case Abortion Grenade (coolest name ever?) have presented to the world a 16 cut, locally produced, indie CD of the highest caliber.

Admittedly, the packaging and artwork is a bit budget but only adds to the underground charm of this band. Ya gotta see the inside CD tray picture to believe it! Lyrics would have been a nice touch as I think these guys are story-tellers and have something fun (and grim) to say. The lyrics are heavily derived from horror movies and the bands image has perhaps a slightly, not comedic, but light-hearted approach to death and horror, unlike a band like Mortician for example, who take it all very seriously.

AG remind me of old Obituary and that puts a smile on my face. They are not rippingly fast or technical but they have that three-piece power-death-groove thing going on. This is a really fun disc. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them live and chatting with them and they are an all round class act. Underground death fans take notice, this is worth your attention.

Last of all, I debated mentioning this point for a while. To me, music transcends, race, creed, colour, gender, religion and so on. If a band is black, white or green, I really don’t care and so I rarely mention things like that. However, I do feel that this band is possibly unique. These young dudes are of Native North American ancestry (First Nations, Aboriginals, I’m not sure what the politically correct term is these days) and they have a strong local following. Could this be the first Native North American band of this metal style who are going to be big? I hope so! It doesn’t matter but to me it just seems so much more cool, for lack of a better term.

Some journalists in the past have tended to dwell on the family heritage of Chuck Billy and Joey Belladonna for example and that can overshadow the important factor, music. I hope the band doesn’t get extra attention in this regard because that would be for the wrong reason, hence my mild apprehension in even mentioning ancestry in this review. However, Abortion Grenade deserve whatever attention they get and even if it initially might be for the wrong reasons. Young bands (if they choose) can use everything they have to their advantage to stand out in the rabid wolf pack of metal, but however AG choose to proceed, I am confident they will succeed.

Track Listing

1. Ghost And The Darkness
2. Blood On The Pigs
3. Recharge The Dead
4. William G-4
5. I Was A Zombie (For The FBI)
6. Blood Flood
7. Bathe The Children In Blood
8. Rotting In Chains
9. Biohazard
10. The Day Everyone Died
11. No More Room In Hell
12. Lonesome Death of Jordy Verill
13. Hungry Spider
14. The Wicked Who Survived The Wrath Of God
15. Old Chief Wooden Head
666 Feet Under